Same Same but Different

It has been quite a few days since my last post partly because I was quite busy and partly because sometimes there is so much to say, it is hard to figure out what to talk about.  This post is about the things that are "Same Same but Different".  In Asia it means, well, it is the same thing, but different.  In Asia you will hear this phrase most often when you are in a shop looking at, lets say, a pink shirt and you ask the shop keeper if she has the shirt in blue.  She will point to the blue shirt and say something like - no blue, you take pink, same same but different.  

I find the phrase to be true about people as well.  We, as people, are all the same deep inside. We long for the same things: safety, love, community, food, shelter, happiness.  We are Same Same yet different in how these "core needs" are expressed through culture, experiences, .....  

Today I want to show the cultural bits are "same same", yet still different.  

Street Corners:

You must wait for the pedestrian light to change so that you can walk across or you will get a ticket.  Sounds familiar, right?  Or Same Same.  The difference is that sometimes neither the street lights or the pedestrian lights are actually on and working.  Frogger anyone (remember the old video game)?  

The main roundabout in town (same same) with seldom working traffic lights (different).

Sports:

They have sports and games just like we do although I have not seen the two main American sports of baseball and Football (USA version known as Football American in other parts of the world since most countries use the word football for soccer).  There was even an aerobics studio in the center of town.  In the parks old men (mostly) gather and play cards, chess, and a form of Rummy Q. 

Bowling (same same), the rich man's game in Romania (different)

Construction:

I did mention I was a bit of a geek, right?  Well, I like to observe how countries do basic things like roadwork, construction and sidewalk/road repair.  

Building curbs (same same) using cement blocks (different)

Upgrading a building (same same) putting color only in one section (different)

Fast Food:

There are many fast food places in town, although they are a bit different.  In a future blog I will devote more to food.  Here I want to share some "funnier" fast food items.

McDonalds (same same)

Notice the trash can on this side of the street with the M.  These trash cans are up and down the street going at least a block each way from McDonalds (different).

Fast Food Big Belly - you are what you eat  ;-) 

This is actually a very popular fast food restaurant in Romania

We traveled to Timisoara (Teemeeshwara), this past weekend for a wedding.  Timisoara is the city where the 1989 revolution began.  While in Timisoara we went to the mall (same same) with some Romania friends for lunch on Sunday (cuz then everyone can get what they want). The Romanian friends all got Kentucky Fried Chicken (chicken strips and fries with garlic mayonnaise for the dipping, yum, yum).  I went to a Romanian "buffet" and got Chicken Snitzel, Fries, a few hot dogs pieces and a drink.  As I sat eating my food I realized I was eating Kentucky Fried Chicken Romanian style (same same but different).  Novelty is all in what you can't get all the time.  

Weddings:

Getting married in Romania can take a long time as they have two different ceremonies, something maybe the US should consider.  As in Latin America, the Romanians have both a civil ceremony and a church ceremony.  The services aren't necessarily held on the same day.  Lucky for us, the wedding we attended held both services on the same day.  And boy was it a long day.  Civil ceremony was in the "wedding chapel" on the roof of the Mall (different) at 12:10pm and it ended with the couple kissing and then walking through a "tunnel" of their friend holding flowers.  The wedding chapel has services every 10 minutes.  

The Happy Couple in the Tunnel of Friends/Family

After the civil ceremony there was a light reception. 

Homemade yummies for the civil service reception

Then at 2:00pmish, was the church service, which was really a church service with a few moments for exchanging vowels at the end of the 2 hour church service.  During the service the bride and groom sat in a special bench just for them.  They did light a candle together although there was NO KISSING.  The reception started thereafter and usually they receptions last around 8 hours.  Lucky for us, the couple was an older couple (mid 30s) so their reception ended a midnight rather than the usual 3:00am.  

Young People:

Just some photos so you know what they look like.  

Young Couple "in love" notice the "same same" clothing

Young men on a stroll.  On left same same fashion. 

 On right, "man capris" with a "man bag" very popular (VERY different)

Graffiti:

Same Same, (not really different)

Train Travel:

Trains are a main source of travel here, as in most European countries.  And here they have two different kinds of trains.  The "old" trains that are rickety and very affordable for everyone so you get a larger cross section of the kinds of people who ride on the train.  There are no assigned seats so it is a "first come first serve".

The newer trains are usually used for the "accelerated" (fewer stops) and "inner city" (only stop at cities) trains and are more expense so the "wealthier" tend to travel.  The train seats aren't necessarily more comfortable for long hauls (can't sleep well in them) although the bathrooms are supposed to be "usable".  And, apparently, you have assigned seats on these trains.  We learned that the hard way this weekend.  

New train on left, old train on right.  

Project Update

To give a brief update on the project and progress, well, it is slow.  We did start the process to register the project as a non profit.  And we revisited the property we were planning to use starting January and we discovered that it really won't be able to serve us the way we had anticipated so we are on a hunt for some new land.  

We are traveling back to Timisoara tomorrow (Wednesday) to help a friend paint in their new boys home.  On Thursday another friend is taking us out to see some property somewhere at the base of the mountains.  It should be a pretty drive and I am looking forward to seeing more of Romania and finding more things to share with you.